Photos: Katmai National Park bears feast on salmon

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A brown bear heads to shore with a sockeye salmon at Brooks River on July 19, 2017, in Katmai National Park. (Tegan Hanlon / Alaska Dispatch News)

On the beaches of the remote Katmai National Park and Preserve last month, a pair of brown bear cubs pounced on each other like enormous, playful puppies, as a cluster of quiet tourists snapped photographs.

Up at Brooks Falls and along the lower river, people stood on wooden platforms, watching more brown bears that hunkered down in the water to catch salmon. Some bears stood with their mouths opened, others dunked their heads under the water.

Along the nearby trails, park rangers ushered groups of people forward when the meandering bears walked far enough away, often traveling into the woods or onto the beach. But when the bears got too close, the rangers stopped the flow of human traffic, telling people to back away and, as they did, to "walk with purpose."

In Katmai, the bears rule. As one park ranger put it to a group of tourists, including myself: "There are bears literally everywhere."

Then she added: "Welcome to bear-mania 2017."

Related stories:

Here's what it takes to keep Katmai's famous bear cams running

Bears, fish and Valley of 10,000 Smokes make Katmai well worth the trip – and the price tag

Beyond the bears: Appreciating other Brooks Camp attractions in Katmai